Tis the season for sharing! In the spirit of the holiday season, tell us your office holiday party horror story (anonymously, of course). Next month we’ll share the most cringe-worthy as well as advice on damage control — in case anything goes awry this year. 

Don’t be a Scrooge … You know you’ve got one.  

Matt Yancey has been selected as the new CEO of the Davis Chamber of Commerce after serving more than seven years as the director of business and economic development at the Sacramento Metro Chamber. So how do you grow a city that’s been historically anti-growth?

Recently I had the opportunity to join 100 local business, nonprofit and public sector leaders on a four-day journey to Nashville, Tenn. to discover how this boot-scootin, honky-tonk city is thriving. Nashville has an identity no one can deny, and one this country girl couldn’t get enough of. But, let me tell you, it is so much more than a music town. Nashville is a thriving hub for business and forward thinking.

Compared to other industries, banks operate from a unique position, in that they have to focus intently on their own security, but also make sure their clients have the knowledge and tools to protect against computer criminals. Providing that protection usually comes down to a matter of security versus convenience.

Network neutrality is the idea that all data should be treated equally no matter who is sending it. The U.S. government is trying to decide if it’s OK for ISPs to create more lanes, then charge content providers a higher fee for traveling down the fast ones. Here’s why the service providers say this is a good idea:

You may have heard about the “internet slowdown” that happened in September. While the term “slowdown” isn’t accurate because the internet was running at full speed, prominent sites like Netflix, Vimeo and Etsy displayed a symbolic loading symbol to protest recent actions by the Federal Communications Commission to eliminate network neutrality.

Rick Schubert is settling in to the part of bee season that didn’t exist when he opened Bee Happy Apiary with 300 hives in 1977. It’s mid-September, and at headquarters, tucked in the dusty hills off a private road in Vacaville, the faint humming of honey bees serves as background buzz to the voices of men.

Nationwide, captives are growing fast. In 2012, 18 new U.S. group captives were formed, the highest level since 2007. But buying into a captive puts both rewards and risks into the hands of business owners.

One thing became clear during the Metro Chamber’s 2014 Study Mission: Nashville’s business community is highly invested in educational opportunities and outcomes. The city’s education system has benefited by leveraging resources from the business community. The business community in turn benefits from workforce quality and retention, which is an ideal model for the Sacramento region to emulate.

You’ve finally done it. Your business now has that elusive support team that should enable you to take the odd weekend off, serve more clients and stop being the bottleneck for every decision. Time to celebrate! … Except, you remember, you still need to train those new team members.